Cherry plum variety Traveler

For those who want to plant cherry plum in the conditions of central Russia and do not know which variety to choose from, we will reveal the secrets of the Traveler variety. It was created at the Crimean experimental selection station of the All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Industry named after N.I. Vavilov. The seedling was obtained by purposeful free pollination of Dessertnaya (from the Tauride cherry plum and the Burbank Chinese plum). Registration of an application for entry into the State Register of Plants of the Russian Federation took place in 1977. Inclusion in the register took place in 1986. Regions of admission - Central, Central Chernozem and North Caucasian, are famous for their temperate continental climate.

Description

The tree is fast-growing, medium-sized - up to 3 meters, with a wide rounded crown of medium thickening. The bark of the trunk is gray, smooth, with many small lentils. The shoots of the Traveler are upright, thick - 3.5 - 4.0 mm, geniculate, brown-green bark with lenticels. The spear of the variety is long, short-lived. Generative buds are oval, with a pointed tip, small, lagging behind the shoot. When the bud opens, the scales turn green. The leaves grow towards the top. The leaf plate of the cherry plum is large, oval in shape, with a strongly pointed apex and an arcuate base. The length of the Traveler's leaf is 2 times its width. The surface of the lamina is slightly glossy, light green, smooth, without pubescence. The underside of the leaf is covered with light fluff. The edge is slightly wavy, with crenate serration. The petiole has the following dimensions - length 12 mm, thickness 1.1 mm. The surface of the cutting is not pubescent, the groove is shallow, and there are no traces of anthocyanin coloration. The glands are located at the base of the leaf and petiole. The inflorescence is two-flowered. The flowers of the variety are white, large - about 3 cm, with weakly closed ovoid petals. The petal is 11 mm long, 9 mm wide, the middle edge is corrugated. Pedicel is long - 18 cm. Sepals are small, 4 mm long, 3 mm wide, oval. The yellow anthers are below the stigma of the pistil. The cherry plum has one pistil, longer than the stamens, there are no additional pistils.

The dimensions of the Traveler's fruit are average - height - 2.9 cm, width - 3 cm, thickness - 2.8 cm. The standard weight, according to the originator, is 28 grams. In the State Register of Plants of the Russian Federation, a different weight is indicated - 18.5 grams. The shape of the fruit is round, asymmetric, the maximum diameter is closer to the base. The abdominal suture is smooth throughout, weakly expressed. The top of the cherry plum fruit is rounded, the funnel is not too deep. The skin is not thick, smooth, shiny, it is difficult to separate from the pulp. The main skin color is yellow, but the red-violet integumentary color completely overlaps it. There are many subcutaneous yellow dots, no strokes. The wax coating is insignificant. The pulp of the variety is orange, fine-fibred, medium-bodied, soft, very aromatic. The cavity is the same color as the pulp. The oxidation of the cut in air is slow. Cherry plum has a good taste, combining slight acidity and medium sugar content. The Traveler's taste assessment given by the tasters is 4.2 points. 100 grams of pulp contains: 11 - 12, 31% dry matter, 7.4% sugars, 4.6% sucrose, 2.7% acid, 0.82% pectin, 3% monosaccharides, 5.8 mg /% vitamin C, 478 mg of pectin substances, 42.9 mg of anthocyanins. The peduncle is of medium length, thin. The stone is small, symmetrical, not separated from the pulp. Dimensions - length 16 mm, width 11 mm, thickness 7 mm. The stone weighs 0.62 grams, approximately 3.90% of the total weight of the fruit. From the side of the abdominal seam, the shape of the bone is elongated-cylindrical, the widest part is at the base. The surface is rough, the keel is not developed. The edges of the dorsal suture are solid, partially fused. The width of the ventral suture is medium, the width of its base is narrow, the shape of the base is rounded, the apex is moderately pointed.

Variety characteristics

• From the moment of planting with an annual seedling to the beginning of fruiting, it takes 3 to 4 years;
• cherry plum blooms in the second decade of April, because of which it can suffer from recurrent frosts;
• early fruiting, drupes ripen in the first decade of July;
• the productivity of the Traveler is excellent - 501.4 c / ha;
• fruiting occurs regularly;
• ripe fruits can crumble from the branches, so do not delay the harvest;
• frost resistance is high enough for the recommended growing regions;
• the tree does not tolerate a long period of drought very well;
• resistance to major diseases, including viral ones, is good, especially to moniliosis and clasterosporiosis;
• the way of eating fruits is universal - they can be used in their natural form, as a dessert, for canning. The evaluation of the processed cherry plum is high: jam and juice with pulp - 4.3 points, compote - 4 points, frozen fruits - 4.2 points;
• fruits are not very suitable for long-term transportation and storage due to their soft consistency.

Pollinators

The variety is self-fertile. But there will be no problems with pollinators. In this capacity, varieties of Russian and Chinese plums are suitable, especially Early... The traveler can also act as a pollinator for plums.

Planting and leaving

Planting can be done in autumn or spring, depending on the climatic characteristics of the region. Our heroine is undemanding to the soils, the main thing is that they are loose, nutritious, with neutral acidity. It is advisable to choose a sunny place, so that the sugar content in the fruits increases, and windless, so that bees can pollinate the plant without hindrance, and the ripe crop does not fall off due to strong gusts of wind.

Despite the fact that the cherry plum needs timely watering, the roots should not suffer from the effects of groundwater. Therefore, try to take dry places for planting. The process of leaving will not be labor, you just need to follow the standard rules of agricultural technology for the culture as a whole.

The Traveler is a tree generous with a harvest of delicious fruits. Gardeners love this variety for its unpretentiousness, frost resistance and disease resistance. Disadvantages include self-infertility, insufficient keeping quality and poorly separating bone.